Posted by Ensign Amber Josen (Communications Officer) in Captain’s Quarters

Posted by Ensign Amber Josen (Communications Officer) in Captain’s Quarters

Posted by Captain Th’elin Zarath (Commanding Officer) in Captain’s Quarters
Posted by… suppressed (1) by the Post Ghost! 👻

(Snip)

Th’elin smiled back, feeling a calm come over the things he’d worried at before. “I can only hope I measure up to that.” He answered. “I’m glad you came too.” He studied her for a moment, taking another sip of tea. One antenna swiveled slightly in the dimness, the other curling at the tip. “It helps to know someone’s checking if I’ve had dinner…” He chuckled.

-Zarath, CO

She laughed and a touch of color hit her cheeks. “Then I guess I’ll make sure of it more often. Though I warn you,” she winked, “I may surprise you and check on you at lunch as well.” Her eyes lit with mischief and teasing. Her eyes occasionally glanced to the antenna as if she was trying to match his mood to what she saw. If she could learn, even a little, about how and why they reacted....

Amber
Comm

Th’elin laughed softly. “I often skip lunch, so you may be on to something there…” Perhaps sensing her curiosity, he smiled wryly. “I wouldn’t worry too much about those.. unless I manage to lose one.”

-Zarath, CO

Realizing she had been caught staring, she smiled and looked back down at his eyes. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to be rude.” She leaned over and started moving food plates from the trays to settle between them on the table. “You need to eat.” She smiled and nodded to the food, still embarrassed.

Amber
Comms

“Why don’t you eat with me? We can share if you like?” Th’elin smiled watching her. The dimness of the room reminded him of the first time he’d met her before the Sentinel had left spacedock. After a moment, he had to remind himself not to stare…

-Zarath, CO

Amber nodded and smiled. “I’d like that, thank you. But you need to eat more than I do. I remembered to have lunch.” She laughed and pushed one of the fuller plates towards him. “So what do you think about this simple run? I mean, it’s a good shake down run, isn’t it? Can test everything in a fairly well controlled situation. Long range comms, short range, transporters… Nearly everything but weapons I imagine.” She laughed and took a sample of one of the small items that looked like a finger food and hoped she wasn’t already messing up.

Amber
Comm

Th’elin tried not to look concerned, though he felt in his gut this might be a little more than a milk run. “There’s always something…” he chuckled, likewise picking at the food with his fingers. He popped a piece of fried bat into his mouth and savored it before going on. “The plan never goes according to plan, you know… and more than one Starfleet Officer has come to know that Space isn’t always as simple as it appears to be. One of my classmates on the way to the academy said: ‘Space is disease and danger, wrapped in darkness and silence.’” The Andorian laughed. “Then he threw up on me in the shuttle.”

-Zarath, CO

She had almost swallowed her morsel when then comment made her laugh. Her hand went to her mouth to cover her finishing the bite. “Oh gracious. Poor guy. Though I imagine he’s right. There’s probably far more out here than can hurt us than help us.” She took another sip of the drink. It was starting to grow on her. “So what made you come out here, then? I mean, I know you started to tell me about liking being out here, when we spoke on the deck that first day before the others arrived.” She blushed slightly remembering the ear piece gift he had given her. “But I’d like to hear the rest of it. If you’ll tell me.”

Amber
Comm

“It might sound silly…” He began, antennae subtly moving back and forth, “but I grew up in an underground city. I didn’t see the surface until I was six years old and we traveled to another continent to visit… family. That was the first time I ever saw the stars, and I knew at that moment I wanted to go out among them. My mothers basically had to frog-march me into the shuttle, otherwise, I’d have stood there gaping at the night sky for an hour.” He smiled at the memory. It also brought to mind something one of his fathers had said during the moment. ‘Great… we’ve lost another one.’ He pondered that for a few seconds, using another bite of food as a pretense. “I suppose I was destined. At least that’s how I’ve always thought about it.”

“Why did you go?”

-Zarath, CO

She smiled. “I can’t imagine growing up underground. But then, I imagine most of your family and friends can’t imagine being on the surface their entire lives.” Taking her last bite of food, she leaned back. “I guess I’m out here because I always planned to be. I originally wanted to be a First Contact Ambassador. But after…” she paused and took a deep breath as pain and something else crossed her eyes a moment, “Well, anyway, I’m on comms now and I want to see how many new languages and locations I can learn and discover before I retire, I guess.” Her hand absently went up to her neck where scar tissue peaked out from under her hairline. Realizing the motion, she quickly dropped her hand again and smiled. “I think being out here, in the dark and depths away from Earth, gives me a good chance of doing perhaps more than merely being an Ambassador would.”

Amber
Comm

“I think maybe none of us knows why we come out here at first, only why we stay out here…” He smiled over a sip of tea and a bite of bread. “It’s never been how I thought it would be when I was a kid, but it’s always been more, way more than I ever expected it to be.”

Zarath, CO

“Well, I, for one, have to say I am glad you were curious beyond measure. And even ‘more’ glad your parents didn’t frog march was it?” She smiled, “Didn’t frog march you back underground and shackle you to the ice.” She nodded and laughed. “I know of a few friends, growing up, whose parents tried to do exactly that. Best they could do were support positions on Earth with the promise never to join Fleet. Cause that meant a chance to get called out here. Glad my folks didn’t, either.”

She finished her food and leaned back, one leg absently curling up under her. “So have you picked up a hobby or pastime while out here? I mean, you can’t spend ‘all’ your time on the bridge. Or at least, you shouldn’t.”

Amber
Comm
(curious little bird)

He took a sip of tea and considered. “I’ve always been a fan of Poetry and Literature.” The Andordian smiled. “I’ve been trying to get through the works of Shakespeare this voyage. Do you enjoy the arts?”

-Zarath, CO

“Shakespeare. Impressive. Iambic Pentameter always eluded me in school. The teacher wanted us to write a dozen stanza sonnet using it. I failed, utterly and miserably.” She laughed. “I do enjoy reading. Actually, I like reading things not from Earth. It seems I can get those anytime. So when the opportunity presents itself, I prefer reading literature from other races and cultures. Did you know Klingon’s have opera?” She smiled. “I never would have guessed. I think poems from other places are the best for insight into another culture because it’s not restricted by the topic on the cover or the reason it was written. It’s from a place of passion. Be it love or hate or loss or gain.” She blushed, “Sorry… I get carried away sometimes. It seems most folks want historical information about other races. I tend to want the more emotional stuff.” She bit her lip then hid herself behind her drink as she tried to will the redness out of her cheeks.

Amber
Comm

bump 8.25.20

(giving up?)